Fenix RC11 Palm-Size USB-Rechargeable LED Flashlight

The Fenix RC11 LED flashlight is rechargeable vis USB, an attractive features for charging in off-grid situations such as with a solar panel or with a charging battery.

Its diminutive sibling, the Fenix RC09 is also appealing for its powerful outtput but tiny form factor. It has performance in line with its smaller battery, but is still extremely bright and has similar behavior.

TIP: the standard offering is sold with the 2600 mAh battery, but Fenix offers 18650 batteries up to 3500 mAh. Most of the bundles push a 2nd 2600 mAh battery, but the smart move is to get the Fenix ARB-L18 3500 mAh battery, at least of off-grid usage and longer runtime matter (runtime matters to me, coming back late at night down the mountain trails). 3500 mAh is 34% more runtime than 2600 mAh.

Fenix RC11 flashlight: runtime with supplied 2600 mAh battery; optional 3500 mAh battery runs about 33% longer* Due to the protective setup of downshifting from Turbo to High after working 5 minutes, the runtime of Turbo is accumulated time.

In use

Press and hold to turn the light on or off. It can also be set to lockout mode by double-clicking, to prevent the switch being inadvertently engaged in a pocket or pack.

Light output

Light output is fantastic in Turbo mode: I could easily see things at least 150 feet away. While Turbo mode can overheat the flashlight, it has protective circuitry that cuts the light output when the temperature gets too high, thus protecting the LED. This isn’t a big deal; Turbo mode is so bright that it’s rare to need such intensity. Users with such needs should go with high power Lupine bike lights and headlamps and flashlights.

The lowest of the five settings is quite dim, but suitable for reading at night in a tent and should last for the five 24-hour days claimed (ten days if there is only 12 hours of night). The Low mode is bright enough to walk a smooth trail; the medium mode brightens things up for rougher terrain.